Blackcurrant recipes for the winter
Blackcurrant blanks have always been in honor of a good housewife. It's cheap, fast and very tasty. And such currant desserts are incredibly useful.
The benefits and harms of berries
This plant is familiar to Russian people from an early age. In the garden of almost every Soviet citizen, and now Russian, this shrub grows with beautiful bright beads. It became known in Russia in the 11th century. The beneficial qualities of currants were learned several centuries later.
This berry has a sweet, slightly sour taste. A small black pearl is truly a treasure, because it is a storehouse of a huge number of vitamins. What is worth only one vitamin C, which maintains the immune system in working condition and resists viral diseases. The vitamin ensemble contains vitamins P, B, E, K, as well as carbohydrates and fiber. The composition also contains minerals: zinc, potassium, manganese, iron, copper.
In addition, it helps in the fight against many ailments. Thanks to folic acid, this berry copes not only with the removal of toxins, but also with radiation.
Even in dried form, it does not lose its ability to positively influence body functions. Vitamin P helps with atherosclerosis by strengthening capillary walls and reducing their permeability. Phytoncides fight against Staphylococcus aureus - the causative agent of diphtheria, dysentery, as well as other microscopic fungi.
leaf application
If every summer season in the family is marked by the harvest of a currant crop, it is worth paying attention to the leaves of the plant. They are in no way inferior to berries in terms of the content of useful qualities. Therefore, lovers of evening fragrant tea drinking will not be superfluous to learn a few rules for collecting:
- the first half of the day is the best time to harvest;
- you need to tear only clean and unspoiled specimens;
- this work should be done before noon;
- if there is no space in the country, you can dry the leaves in the oven or in the dryer.
Despite the abundance of reviews about the positive effect of black currant on the body, there are contraindications to the use of this product. Stomach ulcer, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and gastritis are the reason for the prohibition of its use in food. It also increases blood clotting, so people who have had a stroke should avoid this product.
How to cook?
There are a lot of options for making currant jam. The easiest way to make a delicious treat while retaining all the vitamins present is to rub the berry with sugar.
To do this, you need 1 kg of currants and 1.2 kg of granulated sugar. Wash and dry it on a flat surface. Then send everything to the meat grinder. You can also use a blender to grind. So the product will be more uniform.
Pour in the sugar gradually so that it is evenly distributed. It is better to do this in the evening, because the finished mass should be infused for 12 hours. At night, the air temperature drops, so the jam does not have time to ferment. In any case, leave it in the coolest place in the room. From time to time, do not forget to mix the composition. After thickening, we lay out this fragrant composition in sterile jars.Pour a small amount of granulated sugar on top and close with a synthetic lid. This yummy will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months or more.
Almost the same proportions should be observed when cooking berry jam. For 1 kg of the mixture, take 1.5 kg of sand. Sweet tooth needs to increase the amount of the latter by another 300 g.
After carrying out the same manipulations as for the first case, we put the pointer of the hob burner handle first on a strong fire and hold the container with the berry until it boils, and then reduce the intensity to a minimum, periodically removing the resulting foam.
After 10 minutes of boiling, remove the pan from the stove, which we leave overnight. Then repeat the procedure twice, extending the boiling time by 5 minutes. Next, pour everything into containers and close them with a seaming key.
Be sure to turn the cans upside down or on their side to check the quality of the seaming. The absence of a whistle will indicate that the work is done well.
It will not be difficult for the hostess to prepare compote for the winter, you just need to observe the proportions, and everything will work out.
Drink Ingredients:
- water - 300 g;
- berry collection - 1 kg;
- citric acid - 20 g;
- granulated sugar - 1.5 kg.
Initially, we wash the berries in a deep plate, clean them from the stalks and fill them with sterile jars exactly 1/3, then pour sand and citric acid. Pour boiling water over everything. After seaming the cans, turn them over and wrap them in a warm blanket.
Currant is a champion in the content of vitamins, it also includes many substances necessary for our body. But pectins are not in her honor. Here she even lagged behind her "sister" - red currant. But even this does not greatly affect the thickening of various kinds of sweet dishes.And therefore, you can safely create an appetizing jelly out of it without adding various kinds of thickeners. The main thing in this matter is to follow simple rules:
- Only non-hybrid varieties are suitable for making jelly. In hybrids, there is less pectin.
- When cooking, do not use aluminum, as it oxidizes.
- It is necessary to sterilize those containers in which it is supposed to keep the cooked food.
- The cooking time can be reduced by using a wider container. So everything thickens faster and more evenly.
If there is no need to use only whole fruits, they should be sent to the mixer so that the own juice of the berries is given in full.
An interesting version of the dessert is “Five Minute”, which includes 3 positions:
- water - 0.4 l;
- berry collection - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1.25 kg.
Cooking:
- wash the berries, dry;
- prepare a syrup from water and sugar, leaving it to boil for 7 minutes over low heat after boiling;
- pour the prepared berries with the resulting mass and do not touch for 2 hours;
- after the time has elapsed, put the dishes on the stove and cook for 5 minutes after boiling, not forgetting to stir;
- pour the resulting jam into containers, and the berries can be separated from the syrup, so the jelly will turn out “clean”;
- preserve the jars, wrap them up for a day, and then store them in a cool corner of the house.
Storage recommendations
In addition to preservation in a rolled form, storing fruits at low temperatures is the most affordable way to save all the nutrients in them. Experts say that fresh food is best preserved at a temperature of -16 ... -21 degrees. Frozen, they can stay good for up to 12 months.
Options for preservation at low temperatures can be divided into several options:
- whole berries;
- in a frayed form;
- in ice.
The procedure for freezing berries in general:
- rinse, remove debris and dry them on a towel;
- take a baking sheet and carefully and evenly distribute the berries;
- free up enough space in the freezer for berries and leave the tray there for at least 4 hours;
- after freezing, pour the fruits into prepared bowls;
- if desired, you can write notes indicating what and where exactly lies.
It is recommended to freeze berry puree if there is not enough space in the chamber for storing fruits as a whole. To do this, using a mixer, you need to turn pre-washed and dried berries into a homogeneous mass. You can add sugar if you like and then spread them out very compactly. It will be possible to use such a mixture for filling pies or cook a delicious fruit drink on a winter evening.
Also, to preserve the ground currants, ordinary plastic bags or special ones, which are sold in supermarkets for vegetables and fruits, are quite useful.
There is no need to fill large volumes. They will defrost for quite a long time, and then you have to think what to do with so many. It is optimal to freeze the berry in an amount of not more than 500 g per package.
Another variation is freezing in ice. But this recipe is not popular due to the fact that the ice takes up too much space in the freezer.
Blackcurrant is a unique natural gift, delicious dishes from which will delight all year round, boost immunity, and hearty pies with such a filling will appeal not only to children. All households will be completely delighted with them.
On the technology of harvesting blackcurrants for the winter, see the following video.